


in the darkest shade of blue (i'm here with you)

by boreumdal



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Anxiety Attacks, Exam Stress, F/M, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, a fic where adrien is the one to have it together somehow, adrien is an expert on how to deal bc of years of therapy due to his terrible father, p much marinette imploding bc of stress, pre-reveal friendship development, self-indulgent comfort fic basically, therapist adrien agreste, therapist chat noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2020-06-22 07:25:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19662604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boreumdal/pseuds/boreumdal
Summary: [formerly titled "better in time"]in between studying for the baccalauréat, fighting off an ever-increasing number of akuma, and helping her parents at the bakery, marinette dupain-cheng is about to break.meanwhile, adrien agreste finds himself offering a comforting shoulder to both his partner and a beloved classmate, and he begins to connect the dots as to who might be beneath ladybug's mask.





	1. the bac

The worst part about all this chaos was that Marinette couldn’t say that she hadn't seen it coming. For a superhero in her final year of lycée, the way the end of this school year was going was nothing short of predictable.

In addition to regular end-of-year exams, the baccalauréat loomed ever nearer, easily making this the most difficult year of school Marinette had ever experienced. On top of that, her parents' bakery had been experiencing a deluge of new business since Jagged Stone had enthusiastically endorsed its pastries as the best in Paris a few months prior. If she added the increasing number of akuma that had seemed to appear during the last year—something Tikki had attributed to the heightened levels of stress her particularly akuma-prone class was currently experiencing due to the bac, this whole semester was, well...

“A dumpster fire.”

“What?” Marinette blinked up from her book, squinting at the harsh sunlight streaming through the windows of the library.

“That’s the only way I can describe this semester,” Alya groaned. “The Ladyblog has gone to shit, my grades have gone to shit, my relationship with Nino is hanging by a _thread_ —that’s what this semester is. A _dumpster fire_.”

“Oh, Alya,” Marinette clucked sympathetically. Her best friend, who was normally so positive that it was at times exhausting, had been in an incurably foul mood for the last two weeks, ever since she'd been akumatized after getting into a stress-induced fight with Nino. “The Ladyblog is still thriving! You just can’t update as regularly as you’d like.”

“I’ve missed _five_ akuma sightings in the last two weeks! That’s five out of seven times I’ve missed Ladybug and Chat Noir, all because we’ve been trapped in this godforsaken library!” Alya’s eyes were wide behind her glasses. She covered her face with her hands. Her hysterics would have been funny if Marinette didn’t feel like her friend were actually ready to burst into tears.

“To be fair, there shouldn’t have _been_ five akuma sightings in the last two weeks, let alone seven,” Marinette said, chewing her lower lip. The stress from studying for the baccalauréat really was spinning things out of control. It felt like each person in her class had been akumatized three times over recently. She cursed Hawkmoth every chance she got.

Alya let out a muffled grunt from behind her hands.

“Also, your relationship with Nino is _not_ hanging by a thread. He just dropped by an hour ago to bring you coffee!”

“That’s only the second time I’ve seen him _all week_ , and it’s Thursday!” Alya nearly shrieked. The librarian lifted her head from her desk across the library and shot them a glare.

Marinette patted Alya’s arm and slid the cup of coffee in question closer to her friend. “C’mon. It’s hazelnut. It’s your favorite. You’re going to drink up and study for a couple more hours and then take a break, because you’ve earned it, and then you will pass all of our exams with flying colors.”

Alya sniffled and took the cup gratefully from Marinette. “I don’t know how you stay so positive,” she said with a watery smile. 

“Someone’s got to do it,” Marinette said with a laugh. She glanced at her watch. “Shoot—I’ve gotta go. I told my parents I’d be at the bakery for the evening shift.”

“It’s two weeks out to the bac and you still have to work the bakery?”

Marinette shrugged. “You know it's just been too much for my parents to handle on their own,” she said, shouldering her backpack. “They’re interviewing new hires now. Will you be okay?”

“‘Course I will,” Alya said, smiling fully now and leaning over to give Marinette an air kiss. “Take care of yourself, Marinette.”

“You, too.” 

\---

“Miraculous Ladybug!” 

A swath of pink light washed over the city of Paris for the third time that week. 

“Pound it!” 

It was Chat’s turn to briefly assist the akuma victim—Max, this time, who was despairing loudly over how much studying time being akumatized was taking up. 

Ladybug struggled to take in a breath as she watched Chat walk Max to the edge of the park, which had served as the evening’s battle arena. Her chest had been tight all evening, distracting enough to affect her concentration and unnecessarily elongate the battle. Chat had taken some hard hits for her today that wouldn’t have been an issue if she’d just been on her game, and when Ladybug thought about how much pain her partner had gone through _and_ how much time she’d wasted by being stressed and distracted, it made her even more stressed. 

She squirmed as she breathed in again, trying to wriggle her torso around to take in more air. Chat was coming back now, and if she didn’t get this under control, he’d end up asking her a million questions, which would cut into even _more_ of the study time she’d tried to block out after working at the bakery that night—

 _I’m going to be up_ so _late and I’m going to be too exhausted to focus in class tomorrow and we have that project due by the end of this week and I haven’t even started on my piece and everyone is going to hate me—_ Adrien _is going to hate me, he finished his part two weeks ago and what if someone gets akumatized_ tomorrow _,_ _what am I going to do—_

“Ladybug?”

Ladybug had doubled over, leaning her left hand on her knee while her right was clutched to her chest. The tightness in her lungs had compounded, and no matter how much she gasped for air, she couldn’t seem to breathe in enough, and now there were spots crowding her vision.

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir rushed over, leaning down beside her, one hand pressed on her back, shielding her from the passersby who’d witnessed the fight and were now staring at them. “My Lady, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Ladybug shook her head, trying to get out some words between gasps. “Chat, I’m—” she shook her head again. “I don’t—I don’t _know_ , I just can’t breathe—”

Chat’s hands fluttered nervously around her for a few more seconds before he paused, looking at her critically. Realization seemed to dawn on his face, although Ladybug had no idea what about. 

“Buginette, hang on tight.”

Ladybug only had a moment to look up at Chat in surprise before he’d scooped her up into his arms and taken off into the sky, away from the park and the spectators. They were only in the air for a few seconds, and then Chat landed on a helipad high above the city, where they could see the evening sun setting all of Paris ablaze with light. Chat carried Ladybug over near an enclosed stairwell and set her down on the ground gently against the wall. 

Between the breeze from being up so high and the cooling summer air as the sun began to fall, Ladybug felt herself starting to breathe a little bit easier.

“There we go,” Chat said soothingly, sitting down beside her, rubbing her back in slow circles. “Head between the knees. Envision your lungs filling up with air—yep, just like that, and then—” Chat exhaled with her—a long, exaggerated exhale, but somehow, it made Ladybug feel like she could breathe better, too. “That’s it, Bugaboo. You’re okay now.”

Much to her surprise and horror, Ladybug felt her eyes well up as the constriction in her chest eased. She kept her head between her knees to hide her tears. “Thanks, Kitty.”

“Anytime,” Chat said softly, his hand still warm on her back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Ladybug shook her head, scrunching up her face and holding her breath so she wouldn’t let out a sob. “Just tired.”

“Well, I don’t doubt _that_ ,” Chat said, the exhaustion clear in his own voice. “I feel like we barely have time to go home before we have to come right back out to fight the next akuma these days. But you’re definitely not just tired. You were having a panic attack.”

Ladybug finally looked up at him, wiping away the tear tracks staining her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “I—I was?”

“Oh, Bug,” Chat said when he saw her face, and the tenderness in his eyes and his voice broke her. 

Ladybug threw herself into his chest, and Chat’s arms encircled around her immediately, hard and warm like a shield against the rest of the world as she cried into his shoulder. 

“It’s okay,” Chat whispered, one hand cradling the back of her head and the other disentangling some of the loose strands of hair at the base of her neck. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”

Ladybug shook her head. “I’m just s-so tired, Chat, and everything hurts, and I have to stay up late tonight studying and if Hawkmoth strikes again tomorrow, I just don’t—I don’t know that I have it in me, Chat, I don't—”

“Breathe,” Chat reminded her gently, and he pulled her tighter against him. 

Oddly enough, when the constriction came from him, it felt soothing. Ladybug breathed in a shuddering breath. 

“I know,” he murmured soothingly. “It must be so hard to get up and keep fighting, whether you’re in the suit or not.”

Ladybug said nothing, but she felt warmth in her chest at how well he seemed to understand. Of course he did. He was going through these akuma attacks near daily now, the same as her, and although his civilian life remained shrouded in mystery—largely at her own insistence—she knew enough to know that the bac was looming on his horizon, as well.

“I don’t think anyone can get up and keep on knocking it out better than you can, Ladybug.” His breath ghosted over her hair. “But everyone—even Paris’s most beloved superhero—is allowed to take a break. So why don’t we sit up here and watch the sunset, and then you can go home and make sure you get some sleep?”

“But—” Ladybug pulled away slightly. “I haven’t studied at all since this afternoon—”

“The books will be there tomorrow. And you’ve got time before the exam.”

Ladybug was about to argue, but the tiredness in her bones and the sweetness in Chat’s smile made her stop. She laughed a little, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Thanks, _Chaton_. You’re weirdly good at this.”

“I’ve had practice. It’s not easy being this _purr_ fect. Sometimes, I have to talk to a therapist about it.”

Ladybug’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Despite the pun, Chat nodded solemnly, all traces of joking gone from his eyes. “Here and there. Just to keep me sane. It’s a hard world inside my own head. Sometimes, it’s nice to get out.”

Ladybug chewed her lip, suddenly feeling riddled with guilt for all the times she’d rushed home after a battle when Chat had seemed so eager to stay behind and talk. How many times had she abandoned him in a time of need?

“I know where your head is going. Don’t,” Chat said firmly, before she could say anything. “Do _not_ make yourself feel guilty about this. I’m all the better for it, and now, because I’m in a better place, I’m able to help you. So it all works out.”

“Oh, Chat,” Ladybug whispered, settling her head into his chest once more. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through your own hardships alone.”

“It’s okay, My Lady,” he said brightly, leaning his head down against hers. “I haven’t felt alone since I’ve had you. Now we’ve got each other.”

Ladybug hummed her appreciation at his statement, and together, the two watched the sun continue to sink without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is going to be a short and sweet fic, just about three to four chapters, largely just about marinette working through the insanity that is her life with chat's/adrien's help along the way. i did some research on the bac, but i did take a bit of liberty with it (e.g., i have no idea if regular exams actually overlap with bac studies or not, and i also have no clue if classic french lit is a thing that's on any of the exams). in any case, i think it'd be quite stressful to take an exam that could decide the course of one's fate while also trying to constantly save the world, so. 
> 
> next chapter: marinette loses it, adrien sees, and in the midst of cheering her up, has to wonder if it's coincidence that his good friend (TM) and his Lady freak out in the same exact way. 
> 
> please let me know your thoughts in the comments! and it's so good to see you again. :) 


	2. basically a superhero

The next day was as much of a stressful, discombobulated blur as Marinette had anticipated, but thankfully, at the very least, there had not been any akuma attacks by the time classes had ended. 

And, on the positive side, she felt significantly more awake than she had the day before, when she’d been running on hardly any sleep. After she’d gotten home that night, she’d followed Chat’s advice and showered and gone straight to bed. Despite her fears of not studying her allotted number of hours for that evening or working on her final project, Marinette had been so exhausted that she’d fallen asleep right away, and in the morning, she’d awoken feeling fresh and significantly more ready to tackle the day. 

So, it was with a genuinely bright attitude that Marinette walked to the library with Alya, Rose, Juleka, Alix, and Mylene after classes ended, even with the knowledge that she’d need to study twice as long today to make up for the previous evening. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and Marinette felt like, with her friends to keep her company, she could get through any number of hours.

Throughout the afternoon, the girls pored over their books and study guides and flash cards, pausing occasionally to discuss a difficult concept or to quiz each other or to ask a question to the group at large. Marinette felt like she was making great headway when Alya pulled out her laptop and announced she was going to take a break to update the Ladyblog with the previous day’s akuma attack footage.

“I finally managed to get out of the library to track this encounter down,” Alya said excitedly. “I can’t believe how long the battle lasted yesterday. Ladybug and Chat Noir must have been so beat.”

“I wonder if Ladybug is studying for the bac, too,” Rose mused. “Maybe that’s why the battle took so long. Maybe she’s tired.”

“No way,” Alya said, shaking her head. “She’s not like the rest of us. She’s got bigger things going on! She probably doesn’t have to take the bac at all. It must be so nice to be her—beloved by all, no matter what she does. Bac or no bac.”

Marinette lifted her eyes from her book and glanced across the table at Alya. Rose, Juleka, and Mylene were nodding along, all three of them oblivious to the sudden way Marinette’s shoulders had tensed up. The familiar churning in her stomach began, as if someone had turned a key inside of her chest, and all of a sudden, she felt like she might retch. 

She drew in a deep breath to control herself, and Alya turned to her, suddenly aware of the change in Marinette’s demeanor. 

“Marinette? You okay?” Alya said, brows furrowing.

“I—yeah, I’m fine,” Marinette mumbled quickly, trying to meet her friend’s eyes. Her chest was tight again, and she didn’t want to take yet another big breath for fear of attracting more concern, but all of a sudden, regular breaths were too shallow for her to feel like she was getting any oxygen.

“Are you sure?” Rose said, tilting her head and frowning. “You’re white as a sheet! Should we take you to the nurse?”

 _I have to get out of here_. Marinette felt as though she might combust. She closed her books and stood, her chair scraping noisily against the library floor. She began to shove them haphazardly into her bag along with her pens and notecards. “I—I’m fine,” Marinette repeated. “I’m sorry, guys, I just realized—my parents need me at the bakery, and—I’ve gotta go. Sorry.”

“Marinette?” Alya stood. “You sure?”

“Positive. I’ll call you tonight, Alya. Bye, guys,” Marinette muttered, and before anyone could protest any further, she ran out of the library, her bag still half-unzipped. 

She continued to run as she pushed past the double doors, through the massive building, not even sure where she was going, tears blurring her vision, until she felt like her lungs were on fire. 

\---

Adrien hurried down the hallways of the school toward the library, checking his watch for the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes and trying not to curse. It was already six in the evening. Alya had mentioned a study session after classes let out that day, and as he sorely needed some brushing up on his classic French literature—a subject at which Rose excelled—he didn’t want to miss out. Plus, they had an end-of-year exam the next day that he needed to cram some studying in for, as well.

Of course, it didn’t help that he was already two hours late due to a photo shoot that had been jammed last-minute into his schedule. He’d be lucky if they were even still there; it was almost dinnertime. Predictably, when Adrien had protested this arrangement to Nathalie, mentioning the proximity of his regular exams and the bac, she’d simply responded, “Your father feels that, had you continued with your home schooling, your schedule would not feel so unmanageable right now.”

Adrien had been so flustered that he hadn’t been able to muster up a response besides, “I’ll need the Gorilla to return me to school immediately after.” 

He found himself wishing, more than ever, that he could see Ladybug right now. Lingering concern from the previous night’s events aside, he also felt she was the only other person in the world who would understand what he was going through. Although they’d never divulged their identities to each other, he knew enough about her to know that she was in the same year of school as she was, and therefore also balancing the burden of being a superhero while also juggling studying for end-of-year exams and the baccalauréat. Granted, she wasn’t also dealing with random supermodel duties in between all of that—or, so he assumed—but he couldn’t imagine anyone else being able to understand what it was like to face all the additional pressure on top of that of being a student in his last year of lycée. 

Adrien remembered, then, how Nino had offhandedly mentioned that Marinette was working almost every night at her parents’ bakery these days and hardly sleeping as a result, and he realized he was being a little unfair to the rest of his classmates. He didn’t know what everyone else was going through. They all had additional burdens to bear, whether they were out in the open or not. 

_Maybe I’ll ask Marinette if she would want to study and vent over coffee tomorrow_ , Adrien thought. He felt like he’d gotten to know her so much better over the last year, now that she seemed more willing to talk to him. Now that he thought about it, with her open heart and fantastic listening skills and always-kind words, he couldn’t think of anyone better to confide in, short of Ladybug, of course.

He rounded the corner and came to a halt.

Initially, Adrien was surprised at what he saw, but only for a moment before wondering with some sadness why he was so shocked. Practically everyone else in the class had endured some sort of meltdown in the last couple of months and been akumatized as a result—so this really shouldn’t have been a surprise. Adrien had actually thought about this a lot, how only he and Marinette had been spared, out of their entire class, from the fate of being akumatized in the entire time that he'd known Hawkmoth to even exist. And foolishly, he’d thought that maybe Marinette really was just that sunny and resilient, that nothing could touch her...

But here she was, on her hands and knees, surrounded by books and papers that had been strewn all over the hallway floor. Struggling to breathe and completely alone.

He thought of Ladybug yesterday, how she’d been doing the same thing as Marinette was doing now, digging deep inside of herself just to get a single breath in. He thought about Marinette in class earlier that day, how she’d gently rubbed Alya’s back and produced a little box of homemade chocolates out of seemingly nowhere when Alya had burst into tears abruptly in the middle of their arithmetic review. How she’d turned around to Nino, who’d nodded to her gratefully, and how she’d responded with a brilliant smile. 

No one had been the wiser. _“That’s Marinette for you,”_ Nino had said to Adrien brightly as class had ended. _“She can smile through anything. She’s basically a superhero.”_

Adrien felt his heart crack a little. 

\---

“—rinette? Hey. Marinette.”

Marinette looked up to see concerned green eyes coming into focus, hovering over her.

“Are you okay? Here, let’s get you up—” 

Marinette hadn’t realized until then that she was on all fours, one hand on her chest, her books scattered around the floor where they’d clearly slipped out of her bag, which had slid across the hallway floor when she’d fallen. She was infinitely grateful that no one was around to see. Well, no one except for—

Adrien Agreste hauled her up onto her feet and then held her by the shoulders to steady her. What was he doing here so late? He bent down to pick up her books and placed them back in her bag. She tried to ignore the rush of mortification streaming through her body on top of the panic.

“I-I’m fine, just—” Marinette hated that she was having to do the squirmy thing to get some air back into her lungs. She knew it couldn’t have looked particularly impressive.

“But you’re not,” Adrien said softly, slowly. For some reason, he looked sad.

Marinette held his gaze, uncertain what to say now. It seemed pointless to keep insisting she was okay when she couldn’t dredge up the energy to put on a show of it. But she didn’t want to appear like she was going to lose it, least of all in front of the boy she still held so dear in her heart.

“Here,” Adrien said, pulling her locker open and depositing her bag into it. “Let’s go for a walk. I bet you could use some air.”

“But—I need to—” Marinette said, even as she caught herself falling into step with him down the hall. 

“The books will be there when we get back.” 

Marinette was reminded so abruptly of what Chat had told her the night before that she had to stop and stare. 

Adrien jerked his head toward the front doors of the school, a hint of a smile playing on the corners of his lips. “Come on.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is less than i promised in the last chapter, but it's for a good reason! the whole thing got too long, so i'm breaking it up into two. next chapter to come in the next day or so. 
> 
> thanks to everyone for your readership and your kudos and your comments! i am really happy that other people are getting some enjoyment out of it, because writing this has been such a big stress relief for me. on that note, i haven't abandoned my other fics (or fandoms if any ccs readers are reading this!), promise—it's just that this is a little easier to write at the moment, because, well... stress and anxiety. ha. 
> 
> thanks for reading! see you soon.


	3. how it works

Marinette and Adrien walked in silence, although he kept one arm wrapped around her shoulder, occasionally rubbing her back when she squirmed to breathe in. Marinette hated that she was so wound up that she couldn't even properly appreciate the attention her crush was giving her.

Adrien led them out to the gardens behind the school, where she’d occasionally come with Alya to eat lunch when the weather was nice. In the early stages of dusk, the gardens were empty and beautiful, with the setting sun casting an orange glow over the blooms. 

Without a word, Adrien sat on a stone bench and pulled a thermos out of his bag. He held the thermos out to her.

“Coffee?” Marinette said tentatively, inching closer to him and reaching her hand out.

“Water.” Adrien said. “Coffee is probably the last thing you need right now. Wanna sit for a while?” 

Marinette took the thermos and sat down beside him, fiddling with the cap before finally taking a sip. She hadn’t realized how parched she was until she drank, and she took another sip. The tightness in her chest eased, and carefully, she took in a deep breath, surprised when it actually seemed to reach her lungs. 

“There you go,” Adrien said, smiling at her. 

She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes quite yet. The embarrassment she'd felt was fading now that she realized how badly she’d needed someone to pull her out of her head, but she hated that it had to be Adrien.

“Thank you,” she murmured, staring back down at the thermos. Black with neon green accents. Adrien had always professed to be a huge Ladybug fan, but she wondered absently if he had intended to purchase this thermos with Chat Noir’s colors on it. 

“Marinette…”

Marinette finally turned her head to face him, and his eyes glowed a fiery green in the sunlight. It was mesmerizing. 

“Do you know what was happening to you, just now?”

“I just—I had a little freak-out in the library?” she supplied. But she knew the answer. Chat had told her just yesterday, after all, what this was. 

“You were having a panic attack, I think,” Adrien said. “Have you had one of those before?”

Marinette nodded.

Adrien regarded her silently, his expression unreadable. His brows were furrowed. “Maybe drink some more water?”

Marinette obliged.

“That seemed pretty bad,” Adrien said softly, once she’d taken another sip. “Have you—has this been happening a lot?” 

“No…” Marinette said, and then, after a moment of chewing on her lower lip and wondering why she felt the need to come clean to Adrien Agreste, of all people, she whispered, “Yeah. Every day for a few weeks. But it hasn’t gotten this bad until recently.”

“Oh, Marinette,” Adrien breathed. “Why haven’t you been telling any of us? You know Alya or Nino or I would listen to any of your worries in a heartbeat—you don’t have to keep it all to yourself—and I know you’ve got so much on your plate—”

“I don’t want to burden anyone,” Marinette said quickly, shaking her head. She could barely hear herself over the faint noise of traffic coming from the streets outside the gardens. “Everyone has a lot going on... Adding more onto anyone’s worries could just make _them_ stress out.”

“But… _you_ listen to everyone’s troubles,” Adrien said, frowning. “Every day. I see it.”

“That’s different,” Marinette said reflexively. “I’m—”

“You’re what?”

 _I’m Ladybug_.

“People count on me,” Marinette said lamely. She was filled with the sudden burning desire to tell him the truth, to share this hardship with someone. 

“That’s not being very fair to yourself. You can count on people, too.”

“I—I know,” Marinette said, knowing this was true. She knew, for instance, that Alya would support her through anything. But _Alya’s_ sanity was hanging by a thread, and she’d already been akumatized once in the last three weeks. Marinette couldn’t bear to watch it happen again. “But I can’t just walk around complaining about how stressed out I am.”

“Why not?” Adrien sounded—almost _angry._ “Why can’t you, when people rely so heavily on you?”

“Because…” Marinette scrubbed at her eyes, although she wasn’t crying. She could feel her chest tightening again and sucked in a deep breath. It sounded so silly outside of the costume, but… “I can’t let anyone else get akumatized.”

Adrien was quiet, and when she looked back at him, he was staring at her with what looked like total shock. “Marinette,” he said slowly, “why is it your job to make sure people don’t get akumatized?”

“I mean—it’s not,” Marinette floundered. “But it’s—if I’m bearing people down with my problems and stressing you guys out, I’m contributing to—”

“That’s not how this works,” Adrien said, and there it was again, that fierceness that almost bordered on anger. “That’s not how friendship works. You know that better than anyone.”

Marinette knew, deep down, that Adrien’s quiet fury was not directed at her and was rather on her behalf, but still, she felt herself getting heated, defensive.

“Well, friendship is also making sure that my friends don’t go through yet another traumatizing episode of turning into a brainless monster smack in the middle of finals and the bac,” she snapped, “and now, it’s like it’s happening every day—“

“Please don’t stress about the akuma,” Adrien said, his voice almost pleading, although Marinette couldn’t figure out why. “Ladybug and Chat Noir will take care of it—”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir are human, too!” Marinette yelled, and Adrien backed up a bit, his eyes large with surprise. 

Before Marinette could even process the guilt she felt at his stricken expression, she broke into a sob. She clutched the hem of her shirt, staring down at her legs as tears spilled into her lap. 

“Oh—Marinette...” Adrien’s voice was frantic. 

Marinette shook her head. She tried futilely to control her shuddering breaths and swiped her forearm over her eyes. “I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t h-have yelled at you like that—I’m just—r-really overwhelmed, a-and I feel like… I feel like so many people are c-counting on me—”

“Hey,” he said softly. “It’s okay, Marinette. You’re allowed to be overwhelmed.” But the kindness in Adrien’s voice just made the tears come faster. 

Adrien laid a hand on her shoulder, so gently that she thought he might be nervous about it. When she didn’t flinch away, he moved closer. Marinette could feel the heat of his body radiating against hers, but he didn’t pull her in. She found herself wishing for Chat, his unabashed affection a much-needed balm for this swirling black hole she felt inside her chest.

“Here,” Adrien whispered, and then, as if reading her thoughts, he carefully pulled her toward him and laid his arm around her shoulders, ushering her head into the crook of his neck. She could smell his cologne, notes of bergamot and ambergris, his collarbone hard and sturdy against her cheek. Her tears soaked his t-shirt as his arms tightened around her. 

“You’ll be all right,” he whispered. “I promise. It’ll all be over soon, and this will all be like a bad dream—or even a memory where you only really remember the good parts. And you’re not alone.”

Marinette cried so hard then that she felt like her heart might pop right out of her chest. Adrien kept his arms around her, rocking her slightly back and forth, whispering that it would be all right over and over into her hair. Again, Marinette was reminded how nice it felt to be held together like this when she felt like she was going to explode into a million pieces. 

When she had finally run low on tears and could breathe normally again, Adrien pulled back from her to observe her at arm’s length, brows still furrowed in worry but eyes soft. Self-conscious now that the intensity of the moment had passed, Marinette wiped in vain at her eyes and nose. 

“Sorry,” she muttered. “This is super gross.”

Adrien shook his head. He dug a tissue out from his bag. “It’s not.” 

Gratefully, Marinette accepted it, drying her face, and smiled. “First, the water, and now, this… Is there anything you aren’t carrying in that bag?”

“I’ve also got snacks. I, ah… I may have gotten a little ambitious packing it. I thought I was going to spend the whole night at the library.”

Guilt hammered into Marinette’s chest. Hurriedly, she said, “Oh—shoot, Adrien, I’m so sorry—go ahead and go on into the library, I’ve wasted enough of your time—”

“Hey, no, shh,” Adrien said soothingly, hands on her shoulders again. “It’s all right, Marinette. This is fine. I’d much rather be out here making sure you’re okay.”

Marinette shook her head. “You’ve done more than enough—”

“What did I say?” Adrien said, his voice firmer now. “That’s not how friendship works.”

Marinette fell silent, pondering the warmth of Adrien’s hands on her shoulders and the kindness in his eyes. 

“We don’t have to talk about what's bothering you if you don’t want to, Marinette,” Adrien said softly. “But if you do, I’m all ears.”

Marinette chewed her lip. What was there to say? She was having the same problems as everyone else. Well, there was the added burden of having to fight akumas every forty-eight hours. But she couldn’t talk about that, of course. “I…” she tried, and then she sighed, at a loss. “It’s nothing. Just... stress, you know? Which isn't abnormal right now.”

Adrien stared at her for a while, green eyes boring into her until she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze any longer, and then he nodded. “Okay. How about I stay out here with you, and when you’re ready to go home, I’ll walk you back?”

Marinette thought again about protesting, but she had a feeling Adrien would insist until she agreed. The thought made warmth blossom in her chest. “Okay.”

They sat for a long while, Adrien chattering to fill up the silence and Marinette listening gratefully, until the garden was no longer burning orange, but rather cool blue beneath the rapidly darkening sky. Marinette hadn’t intended to keep Adrien out till dark, and she would have felt worse about it, but he kept up such a steady stream of conversation about nothing and everything that she couldn’t really tell if he minded. 

When a lull fell in the conversation, Marinette carefully toed the edge of what was on her mind. It wasn’t anything she’d ever thought about discussing with him in particular, but somehow, she felt like he would get it. “About—about earlier, Adrien… Do you ever think about Ladybug and Chat Noir, what they do in their civilian lives?”

Adrien was quiet for a moment, and the silence was filled with the faint rushing of cars on the streets once more. Then, he said, his voice soft, “Sure. Sometimes. Why?”

Marinette shrugged. “Just curious… earlier, the others were arguing about whether Ladybug has to take the bac,” she said, smiling faintly. “I—I don’t know why, but it just… I got upset when they said that her life is so different and she probably doesn’t have to worry about things like that. I mean, of course she does.”

Adrien let out a chuckle. “I’m sure she does, too. And I have a feeling Chat Noir does as well.”

“Right?” Marinette said, relieved that he agreed with her, even if it was just to play along. It felt like he was taking just a little bit of the weight off her shoulders. She pulled her feet up onto the bench and drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on her forearms. “Everyone talks about Ladybug and Chat Noir like they’re untouchable. But they’re not. They’re just kids… I mean, I think. They seem like they’re so young. They probably have the normal problems we have, _and_ they’re tasked with the burden of protecting Paris at all costs. They must be exhausted.” 

“I’m sure they appreciate you thinking that way,” Adrien said seriously, although he was smiling a little. “I know you’re right. They are tired. How could they not be? But they have each other. They rely on each other, you know?”

Marinette turned so that she was resting her cheek on her forearms instead, and she stared into the deep green of his eyes. She thought about how she’d longed for Chat when she needed comfort the most. “That’s true.”

“And just like them, you’ve got people you can rely on, too,” Adrien said. “You’ve got Alya and Nino, and even Chloé, whether she’d like to admit it or not.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose, and Adrien laughed. 

“And in case you didn’t figure this out already, Marinette, you’ve got me.”

Marinette's heart flipped a few times in her chest. She blinked at him, but didn’t look away. “Promise?” she whispered.

Adrien held her gaze, and the corners of his lips lifted up into a little smile. “Always.”

\---

As Adrien stood outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery waiting for the Gorilla to come and pick him up, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing up at the third-story window of Marinette’s bedroom. After a moment, he saw the light switch off, and he let out a small sigh. 

After walking to the bakery together, the two had decided to spend an hour or two at Marinette's kitchen table studying so they wouldn’t totally feel like the night had been squandered. Much to Adrien’s delight, Marinette’s trouble area turned out to be physical sciences, a subject for which he could actually answer her questions and feel useful; and although she wasn’t number one in the class for French literature, she was still quite good at it and able to help Adrien out as well. Marinette’s mother had graciously provided the most delicious chocolate chip cookies Adrien had ever tasted in his life, and they’d both parted in relatively good spirits.

Although it wasn’t the four-hour study marathon he’d been anticipating earlier in the day, in a way, he was glad the night had turned out like this. He had no way of knowing for sure if he’d truly been able to help Marinette today in her time of need, but he had no doubt she would have kept it totally bottled up if no one had walked up on her in the middle of her panic attack in the hallway. The images of her hyperventilating on the floor and sobbing into his chest still twisted his gut painfully, and he couldn’t imagine how she’d be faring by tomorrow if she'd still felt like she had no one to lean on. 

The car pulled up, and Adrien climbed inside, pulling himself out of his own head for just long enough to say hello to the Gorilla and then diving right back in. 

Now that he was far enough away from the events of the day, Adrien realized something had been nagging at him all afternoon. In his mind’s eye, once more, he placed that image of Marinette on the floor of the hallway over the one of Ladybug doubling over after their battle the day before. Marinette’s voice, watery and breaking, as she described her concern for Ladybug and Chat Noir, echoed in his head. He saw the tears spilling out of red-rimmed eyes that happened to be the same peculiar shade of blue as Ladybug’s. 

But it was probably just a coincidence, Adrien thought as he trudged up the stairs to his room, dropped his bag, slipped Plagg a sliver of camembert, brushed his teeth, and, too tired to shower, shrugged off his clothes and toppled into bed. After all, the baccalauréat was not an exam that was limited to the students in his class, and all the French students in Adrien's year were probably losing their minds right now. And Marinette had always been a fan of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and she’d voiced her concerns for their well-being before. And she’d always borne a resemblance to his Lady, but no matter how many ways Adrien had tried to place it, he couldn’t seem to prove to himself that they were one and the same.

So it just wasn’t very likely that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug.

Adrien closed his eyes. Dreams began to wash over his consciousness, and he recognized that he was falling asleep.

Because really, if that were the case, that would mean both his beloved classmate and the love of his life were the same person, and that all this time, she’d been suffering her many burdens alone in total silence, right under his nose.

And the thought of that was unbearable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the image of adrien excitedly stuffing a bag full of water and snacks and tissues and bandaids as if he's going on a camping trip when he's really just going to study with his friends both warms and breaks my heart.
> 
> the next chapter is the end! thanks to everyone who's been following along for this little fic. i've really loved hearing about how people have found the struggles in this story relatable. stress is a real asshole, and i think society's pretty much taught us that if we're not way too hard on ourselves and stressed out all the time, we're doing something wrong. i hope therapist!adrien helps remind us all to take a breather when necessary, haha.
> 
> see you soon!


	4. you and me against the world

“Adrien. Adrien, wake up.”

Adrien felt the eraser end of a pencil poke into his forearm, and he raised his head groggily. “Whuh?”

“Class is about to start. M. Durand is passing out tests. Wake up,” Nino whispered.

“Oh. Right.” Adrien sat up straight and rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. His mouth was dry, and he pulled out a pen and reached for his coffee, and then thought better of it, putting the thermos back down. The smell alone made his stomach turn over—his brain had begun to equate coffee with no sleep, and that was _not_ what his body wanted right now.

“Here,” Nino said, pushing a granola bar and his water bottle toward Adrien, who took both gratefully. “You okay, man? You just walked in and fell asleep as soon as you sat down. You’ve been sleeping like a dead person for the last fifteen minutes.”

Adrien shrugged, unwrapping the granola bar and taking slow bites. “I had to do a modeling thing late into the night. Just tired.”

There was no need, Adrien thought, to let Nino know that he was actually running on fumes thanks to the late-night study session with Marinette and the subsequent four-hour akuma battle that had roused him out of bed only thirty minutes after he’d fallen asleep that night.

“Your dad’s a real asshole, you know that?” Nino muttered.

Adrien cracked a grin. “That’s news to me.”

Nino laughed. 

"Hey," Alya called from behind them. “Is there any chance either of you guys have heard from Marinette?”

Adrien turned, and his eyes went to Marinette’s seat. He only just registered that she hadn’t arrived yet. 

Both Adrien and Nino pulled their phones out beneath their desks and checked for messages. 

“Nope,” Nino said. 

“Me, either,” Adrien muttered, trying not to sound too concerned. Like everyone else in class, Marinette was probably just _very_ tired because of the rigorous study schedule and had overslept, or maybe even gotten sick. But today was the first of their end-of-year exams, and it was unlike her to be late for a test. He caught himself wondering vaguely if she’d overslept because she, like him, had been exhausted from fighting an akuma the night before.

“Hmm.” Alya frowned. “It’s just weird. She’s not answering me at all. Even if she’s running late, it’s just not like her… She’s literally about to miss an exam.”

“That _is_ weird,” Nino agreed. “Did you try calling?”

Alya nodded. “Maybe she’s overslept. Adrien, do you think you could try texting her? Maybe she’ll respond to you.”

“Oh, uh—yeah, of course.” Adrien tapped out a quick, _How are we doing this morning, Marinette?_ to her, and then put his phone away as M. Durand placed an exam sheet on his desk.

Even as M. Durand returned to the front of the classroom, gave instructions, and began the test clock, Adrien found his eyes wandering to the door, half-expecting Marinette to burst in and apologize profusely for being late before tiptoeing to her seat. But two hours passed, and the exam ended without interruption. Morning passed into lunch, and Marinette did not appear or provide any response to him, Alya, or Nino.

By the time the trio had made it outside to the picnic tables for lunch, Alya was dialing the bakery on her phone, chewing her lower lip all the while. Adrien stood beside Nino as he listened to Alya’s half of the conversation, trying to ignore the anxious churning in his stomach. He hardly even remembered what he’d written on his exam; half of his brain had been distracted with Marinette’s whereabouts and the reason she hadn’t come in the entire time.

“Mme. Cheng! This is Alya—I was wondering if Marinette is home. We had a test today, and—” Alya frowned. “You—you haven’t seen her all morning?”

Adrien felt his stomach sink. 

Alya met his and Nino’s eyes. “ _She’s not home_ ,” Alya whispered.

“I understand,” Alya said quickly, her tone taking on a sense of urgency. “We’ll keep an eye out for her and let you know as soon as we hear something. And if M. Dupain finds her, please call me.”

Alya hung up the phone, and she turned toward Adrien and Nino, looking ready to take off in a dead sprint to Marinette’s house. “Guys, Marinette is missing,” Alya said in a hushed voice, tears springing to her eyes. “I _knew_ something was up with her yesterday, and I totally ignored it like a selfish asshole—”

“Babe, don’t—you’re not an asshole,” Nino said quickly, rushing to Alya’s side and wrapping her into a hug. 

“I am,” Alya said, her voice cracking. “I could tell she wasn’t being herself, and I should’ve gone after her when she left the library last night, but—”

Nino shushed Alya, who sniffled as she fought to control her tears.

“It’s okay, Alya,” Adrien said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’re all going through a lot right now. And I ran into Marinette on her way out of the school yesterday, so she wasn’t alone.”

“Y-you did?” Alya said, looking up at him. “How was she?”

“Frazzled like the rest of us,” Adrien said, trying to sound nonchalant. Alya herself looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown, and divulging the full details of Marinette’s mental state the night before wouldn’t help. “I walked her home and studied with her for a bit, and when I left, things seemed okay.”

“That’s good,” Alya said, looking mildly relieved. “But where could she be today? Why wouldn’t she come to school when we have an exam?”

“Not sure,” Adrien muttered. “But tell you what. The rest of the day is just review, right? You guys get back to class. I’m going to tell M. Durand I need to leave for the afternoon for a last-minute shoot and look around for Marinette. Nino, could I steal your notes today? It’s French lit review, and you know how much I suck at it.”

Nino shook his head and let out a soft laugh. “You don’t suck at _anything_ , dude. But of course you can.”

Alya threw her arms around Adrien. “Thanks, Adrien.”

“Of course. I’ll text you guys as soon as I hear anything.” 

Adrien jogged off the campus and rounded the corner, and as soon as he’d managed to duck into an alleyway, Plagg flew out of his pocket. 

“We doing this, kid?”

“Absolutely. Plagg, claws out!”

\---

Chat Noir had hardly finished transforming by the time he leapt off his feet and onto the nearest rooftop, bounding across the city at breakneck speed while keeping an eye out for a pair of pigtails or a flash of red. 

If his suspicions were right, then Marinette had gone somewhere to be alone in another moment of panic. And if one were, say, a superhero with the capability to yo-yo her way from rooftop to rooftop, where better to go to be alone than one of the highest points in the city, where theoretically, only one other person could reach her?

The search didn’t take long. Chat’s body was on autopilot, pulling him to their favorite spot at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and just as he’d expected, there sat Ladybug, legs folded, her shoulders hunched and her head bowed and looking so _small_ in that moment that it sent a pang of hurt through Chat’s heart. He took a few careful steps toward her.

“LB?”

Ladybug glanced up to reveal red-rimmed eyes. Much to Chat’s surprise, she didn’t look caught off-guard at seeing him. He inched closer until he was sure she didn’t mind, and then he sat himself down next to her. 

“Skipping school without me? I’m hurt.”

Ladybug let out a half-hearted laugh. “Sorry, _Chaton_.”

Chat nudged her shoulder with his. “That’s okay. I’m only kidding.”

“Not that I’m not glad to see you,” Ladybug said, her voice low, a watery smile playing on her lips. “But how’d you know to find me?”

Chat pressed his lips together for a moment, debating whether to reveal his hunch (which he now suspected was just plain fact) as to her identity. Then again, he didn’t think now would be the right time, so he delicately sidestepped the truth. “I just had a feeling,” he shrugged. “What are you doing here this time of day, anyway?” 

“Well, about that...” Ladybug began, and when he heard her voice break a little, his heart dropped into his stomach. 

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Chat instinctively put an arm around Ladybug’s shoulders.

“I messed up today,” Ladybug whispered, drawing knees up to her chest. “Big time.”

“No way, Bugaboo. I’m sure whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

She shook her head and let out a low laugh that turned into a sob. “After last night’s battle, I came home and crashed, and… I guess I was so tired that somehow, I slept through all my alarms. I woke up at 10 A.M. to a million texts from my friends asking where I was. We had our first final exam today, and I missed it just because I overslept,” she whispered, tears spilling out of her eyes. “What does it even matter how I do on the bac if I don’t pass my classes to graduate?”

“Aw, Bug…” Chat pulled her into him, retracting his claws to run gloved fingers through her pigtails. “I’m so sorry. I know how much you had to have panicked and how stressed you must be now. But we can definitely fix this.”

Ladybug wiped her eyes and looked at him skeptically. 

“I mean it!” he said, trying to keep his voice light. If it was M. Durand she was talking about, he knew he could help Marinette figure out what to say to the teacher to get a second chance at taking the test. If anyone deserved another shot, he thought, it was Ladybug. “We’ll work it out, I promise.”

Ladybug shook her head and pulled back, palm against her forehead and fingers tangled in her bangs. “That’s the thing,” she whispered. “Even if this one works out… What’s the point?”

Chat blinked at her, his gut twisting. Neither Ladybug nor Marinette were new to facing challenges and even wanting to give up, he knew. But this was a level of defeat he wasn’t accustomed to hearing from her. “What do you mean?” he said softly.

Ladybug’s grip on her bangs tightened in a way that looked painful. “I don’t know… I guess, just, so what if I make up the test, and I pass the next one, and I pass the bac? What happens then? The thought of everything after that—” she took in a deep, shuddering breath and looked at him. “What about all the akuma and Hawkmoth, and what about getting the right job, and not disappointing my parents?”

“Ladybug—”

“I—I know I should be grateful,” she said quickly, as if she thought he’d accuse her of _ungratefulness_ right now. “I know that I have friends and teachers who can help me and a supportive family and a good future if I get past this—”

“Ladybug—”

“But everyone seems to think I can do it all by myself, and I want to, but I don’t know if I can! I’m so tired, and if life is just this—just one challenge after another—Chat, I don’t know how I can do it—and I’m terrified because I only have to fail once for everything to fall apart, and I can’t—I can’t—” Ladybug let out another sob, and she scrubbed at her eyes with her fists, her breaths coming in and out in short, harsh staccato bursts.

“Bug. Hey. You’ve gotta breathe.” Gently, Chat pulled her hands away from her face. He brushed her bangs back into place with his fingers and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. “Look at me, okay? Eyes on me.”

Ladybug blinked out more tears, but she obeyed, hiccupping in shallow breaths. Chat watched ocean-blue eyes in silence for a quiet millisecond, wishing he could erase the pain and fear from them with the wave of a hand. He wondered how he had never let himself connect the dots like this before and see the girl beneath the mask, as many times as he’d wondered about who she might be. It hurt him deeply that Ladybug was suffering like this, and it _killed_ him that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a true wondergirl if he’d ever known one, was falling apart all alone and felt she had no one to turn to. 

“Breathe,” he repeated. “Remember what I told you a couple days ago? Big breath in, big breath out. I’ll do it with you.” 

Ladybug’s first inhale was short, cutting off before she exhaled harshly. “S-sorry, I—”

“It’s okay,” Chat said, squeezing her arm in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. “C’mon. With me.”

This time, Ladybug’s chest rose as she took in a deep breath with Chat and fell as she expelled it. He led her through the exercise a few more times before he heard her breathing return to normal. 

“Better?” Chat peered into her eyes.

She nodded. “Th-thanks, _Chaton_. I really owe you.”

Chat waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t be crazy. Of course you don’t, my Lady.” He smiled. “For you, my services come free.”

Ladybug smiled back, and it touched her eyes, and all he felt in that moment was relief so pronounced that it produced an ache in his chest.

“So,” he said, swinging his legs in the air where they dangled from the ledge. “Now that we’ve got you breathing, can we talk about what you said?”

Ladybug stared down at her hands, something like shame rippling across her face. 

“Hey, not like that,” Chat said, grabbing one of her hands with his own. “I just meant—well, how about this? Can I talk, and you listen?”

Ladybug regarded him with an expression that he couldn’t read but found familiar—kind of like the way he caught Marinette looking at him sometimes—and Chat tried to ignore the way it sent his heartbeat racing. He tried to ignore this. He needed to focus. She nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay, then.” He nodded, too, and took a deep breath. “First of all. It’s okay to be tired and scared. You’re a superhero, but you’re a human underneath that suit—unless there’s something you’re not telling me.” He raised an eyebrow.

Ladybug’s lips flickered up into a half-smile, and she shook her head. 

He grinned. “Okay. And most importantly, because you’re human, you can lean on other people when you are tired and scared. Even when you feel like you have no one else in this whole world, Bug, I’ve got your back through anything—you and me against the world. And when you don’t tell me about stuff like this and end up nearly passing out after a battle because you’re having a panic attack—well… I worry about you, you know?”

“I’m sorry, Kitty,” Ladybug said softly, glancing down. “I just know it’s a hard time for everyone right now, so I didn’t want to—”

“It is,” Chat agreed, “but you can’t absorb everyone else’s heartache on top of your own and not let any of it out. So, when you need it, lean on me. Please.” He made sure to look her in the eyes. “I mean that.”

Ladybug smiled again. “Okay. I will.”

“Good,” he said. “And secondly… I know it’s hard to keep going. You’re right—if you look at it from a certain angle, life is just a series of challenges, one after the other, and if you fail one, it can set you back a few steps.”

Ladybug swallowed and said nothing, and Chat squeezed her hand. “But remember what I said, LB? That’s life from just one angle. Think about all the other angles—the highs when you rise to the occasion. Think about the people you make proud, how proud _I_ am of you, which I always am—and most importantly, think about how _you_ feel, every time you jump a hurdle or ace a test or capture an akuma.”

Chat paused for a breath, and Ladybug was staring at him now, her lips slightly parted, looking at him with that unreadable expression again, and all of a sudden, he wanted nothing more than to grab her face and kiss her. He turned his head forward to face the Paris skyline to better focus and cleared his throat before continuing. 

“So, um… yeah. From the other side, as many challenges as you face, you have just as many chances to prove to yourself that you can keep going. And so what if you fail once? One failure won’t take you back to the starting line. It’ll take you back just a few paces. But I know you’ll get it right the next time. You always do, my Lady.” 

He stopped then, realizing that he’d been talking for some time and that his partner hadn’t responded at all, and all of a sudden, he was nervous. Slowly, he turned his head to stare back at Ladybug, and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw that she was still watching him with that expression—slightly awed, heartbreakingly tender. He reached his fingers up to her face to trace her cheek. “Ladybug?”

In the next moment, he found himself nearly toppling over as Ladybug threw herself into him, her face buried in his neck and her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her breath was warm against his collarbone through his suit, and Chat felt her shaking as he slowly moved one of his own arms around her, using the other to brace himself against the ground, trying to process what was going on. “Ladybug?” he tried again.

“ _Chaton_ ,” Ladybug said against him, and he realized then that she was shaking because she was crying. “ _Thank you_.”

Chat relaxed then, letting himself fall softly back against the ground, tightening his arms around his partner’s form. Something told him he’d gotten through, and he felt his own eyes well up in relief and gratitude. “Anytime, Bugaboo,” he whispered into her hair.

\---

“Well, Marinette, it looks like our time is up for the day,” Dr. Beaufils said, glancing down at her watch. She looked up through her glasses at Marinette with a warm smile. “But I think we made a lot of progress during our session.”

“Oh—yeah,” Marinette nodded, wondering how the hour had gone by so quickly. “I think so, too.”

“Good. I want you to recognize that you’re making big leaps here, because last week, you mentioned you were feeling like you were frozen in place.” 

Marinette flushed, embarrassed now at her brashness last week, when she’d almost left the therapist’s office midway through the session in frustrated tears. “I’m sorry—I was just being impatient—”

“That’s okay,” Dr. Beaufils shook her head. “No need to apologize. That’s very common. A lot of patients come in and expect immediate results. I’m very glad you gave it some time and that you can really start seeing the fruits of your dedication.”

Marinette smiled, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. “Thank you.”

Dr. Beaufils smiled back. “You’re very welcome. Should we schedule another session for next week, then?”

\---

Ladybug felt herself grin from ear to ear when she saw the outline of her partner sitting on the rooftop of their designated meeting place from afar. Careful not to jostle the basket hanging from her arm too much, she zipped her way over to him with a few final swings of her yo-yo and landed gracefully beside him.

Chat Noir glanced up, green eyes bright and full of mirth. “Excellent timing, my Lady. Sunset starts in twenty minutes.” He patted the spot on the roof beside him.

Ladybug smiled and sat beside him, setting the basket carefully between them. “I brought celebration pastries! Courtesy of Tom and Sabine for finishing the bac. They say congratulations.”

Chat’s ears perked up as he lifted the red gingham cloth in which the Dupain-Chengs had so lovingly wrapped various freshly-baked tarts, cakes, and sweet breads. He pressed a hand to his chest and gasped with delight. “Princess, you _spoil_ me. Your parents have _paw_ -sitively outdone themselves.”

Ladybug giggled. “I’ll be sure to deliver the message.” She lifted a pastry out of the basket and handed it to him. “Eclair?” 

Chat gladly accepted the treat and took a big bite, chewing as he leaned back on one hand and watched the darkening Parisian sky in silence. Ladybug did the same, relishing the sweet taste of crème pâtissière on her tongue and the warm breeze that seemed to denote the peace of the evening. She drew in a deep breath and could actually feel the air filling her lungs, and thinking about all the turmoil and crushing anxiety that had finally given way to these days of calm, she suddenly felt the urge to cry tears of joy.

 _Finally_. She’d finally be able to enjoy the sunset with Chat without the burdens of her school schedule, and if she were lucky, even without the threat of an akuma, on the horizon. She’d finally be able to get into bed before midnight, and before she fell asleep, she knew that she’d get a good-night call from her favorite person, and they’d talk and laugh until neither of them could keep their eyes open anymore, and then he’d tell her as he had every night for the last week—

“Bug?”

“Hm?” Ladybug turned her head to meet her partner’s eyes and felt a rush of warmth at the way they glowed. She didn’t know if she’d ever get over it, really, the way he looked at her. 

“How was therapy?” Chat tilted his head.

Ladybug smiled softly. “It was really good today, actually. I feel like I’m… I don’t know? Learning things about myself that I thought I already knew.”

“That sounds about right.” Chat grinned, finishing his eclair and nudging her shoulder with his. “I’m so proud of you, my Lady.”

Ladybug blushed and took another bite of her own eclair. “For what?”

“For being brave enough to reach out for some help. And for sticking with it. And making it through the bac in one piece, and kicking major akuma ass all the while.”

“Oh, Kitty. You know I couldn’t have done it without you, right?”

“Nonsense. It’s always been in you. You just needed someone to remind you of that,” Chat said, smiling fondly at her. 

Ladybug felt her heart do a few somersaults when he began to lean in, but then, much to her disappointment, he sat back, a look of realization dawning on his face. 

“Oh, right!” he exclaimed, and he rummaged around in the basket until he found what he was looking for. He held up the wedge of camembert that Marinette had snuck into the basket after her parents had loaded it up with baked goods. “You remembered!"

Ladybug smiled. “Of course I did. How could I forget when Plagg wailed for two hours about having to settle for brie during our final study session?”

Chat let out a chuckle and detransformed. Plagg zipped out and immediately flew into the wedge of cheese in Adrien’s hand, embracing it with both arms. “I could _kiss_ you, kid,” he said to Ladybug.

“Hey, watch it,” Adrien chided. “That’s my line.”

Ladybug giggled and released her transformation as well, digging a chocolate macaron out of the basket as Tikki greeted Adrien cheerfully with a peck on the cheek. Tikki accepted the cookie Marinette offered her and flew off to go eat with Plagg. 

Marinette watched the kwami for a moment, marveling at the still-new freedom of letting herself be just herself in front of her partner—in front of Adrien. She caught herself slipping back into the memory of him revealing that he’d figured out her identity, of the joyful tears in his eyes alleviating her fear as he’d told her how happy he was that it was _her_ , Marinette Dupain-Cheng and no one else, beneath the mask. She turned her head toward him, only to see Adrien’s eyes, so sweet and full of warmth, fixed on her. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.

“Hi,” she breathed.

“Hi,” Adrien murmured back, and he closed the gap between them, brushing his lips against hers. “Have I told you that I love you?”

Marinette let out a soft laugh to cover up the _whoosh_ in her belly when she heard the words. “Not today, you haven’t.”

“My mistake.” Adrien smiled and pressed his lips against hers in a deeper kiss, intertwining their fingers and leaning her back until she was lying flat on the rooftop. “I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” he whispered against her lips. 

Marinette saw the sky turning brilliant hues of orange and pink and purple before she closed her eyes and lost herself in his kiss. “I love you, too, _mon minou_.”  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it only took a year, but this story is finally done! i hope everyone is doing okay, staying healthy, and staying, to the best of their ability, happy. these are really bizarre and worrying times, and it's more than okay to feel anxious and frightened and out of sorts. i hope, beyond just entertaining, this chapter (and this story) help serve as a reminder to be kind to yourselves, especially in such a difficult time. 
> 
> thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos throughout the course of my posting this fic! i really have loved hearing your thoughts and how people have been able to relate. please let me know your thoughts below, and thank you so much for reading!


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